Clarity
by EmperorDoofenshmirtz
Summary: Despite his oblivious nature, Phineas occasionally had impressive moments of clarity. One-shot.


**Hello again! I have a lot of free time on my hands (it's a holiday up here), so here's the second oneshot in a week. I know, I scare myself.**

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**Despite his usual fleeting obsessions, Phineas had some impressive moments of clarity; small, unforgettable moments where he would show appreciation for at least some of the constants in his life. Ferb was listening to the rummaging from upstairs, as various tools and inventions were lazily thrown to land with a great 'clatter', no longer the source of a day's fun. The green-haired boy sluggishly checked his pocket watch, and, noting the late start, rose from the kitchen table, yawning like a cat. It was time to find out exactly what his brother was doing. He climbed the stairs silently and turned into the bedroom, avoiding a wood-metal fusing tool that was currently airborne. He cocked his head at the sight that confronted him.

Phineas was waste deep in a mountain of junk and technology, frantically scraping through old projects, muttering to himself.

"Wrong… no… How'd this get in here?"

Ferb coughed, still watching with interest. Phineas took no notice, instead sinking further into the mound, with an increasing mix of excitement and desperation. Ferb knocked lightly on the wall, slightly annoyed. Once again, Phineas continued in his pursuit of the unknown, not acknowledging his brother in the slightest. Ferb groaned with exasperation and resorted to a last ditch effort:

"Whatcha doin'?" He asked, mimicking her tone exactly.

Immediately Phineas shot out of the wreckage with cartoon-like energy, darting forward into the centre of the room.

"Isabella, I –!" He glanced around, before seeing Ferb. "Oh, hey Ferb! How long ya been there?"

Ferb shrugged.

"Well…" said Phineas, scratching his ear sheepishly. "I'm not sure what we're going to do today. It's Isabella's birthday (Ferb nodded) and I have no idea what to get her! What do you get for a girl that has everything?"

Ferb didn't respond, figuring that an appearance from Phineas would probably make Isabella happy enough. But… if this was Phineas maturing, perhaps he should let nature take its course. And by nature, he meant Phineas' random whims and schemes.

"How about… a card that can be seen from space! Nah, it's a bit tacky…"

Ferb noted to himself (in good humour of course), that Phineas hadn't gone to these lengths on _his_ birthday. Although his birthday had involved saving the multiverse and the entirety of existence, so he wasn't complaining. Plus, Vanessa _and _all those Fireside Girls had been there, which was just icing.

"A unicorn! … but we made one for her already… An armada of unicorns, as far as the Tri-State Area can see!"

Phineas suddenly degraded into a moment's silence, his face unusually downcast.

"She's not gonna like it, is she?" He complained, quite uncharacteristically. "it'll be like the time we were on that ship… and Paris… and when she wanted to go to that dance…"

He glanced up at Ferb, pleading wildly.

"What can I do? Ferb?"

Ferb breathed in calmly, his eyes moving to gaze out of the window. For several minutes he watched a bird hop along the windowsill, figuring out how to remedy the situation without necessarily moving Phineas forward. After all, Phineas' feelings were something he had to realise himself.

"Well," he spoke softly, still gazing intently at the world outdoors. "She's still here, isn't she? She's not going anywhere. But you're going to her party. I think you know what to do. You're just confused over perceptions." Ferb suddenly snapped back into reality, shaking his head. "Anyway, I'd better be getting ready. I have some Fireside Girls to entertain."

And with that, Ferb left the room, leaving Phineas looking puzzled at the final remark. Surely Fireside Girls can entertain themselves? The pile of used projects and gadgets suddenly returned to his mind, and panic once again settled around him. He glanced around frantically for a moment, muttering again.

"Just like the ship… Paris… and the dance…"

He dived head-first into the junk pile, his strange repetitions muffled by his forgotten creations. Suddenly, he shot out of the pile, a grin on his face.

"THAT'S IT!" he cried, startling the bird resting on the windowsill. "The boat, the dance, Paris!"

Ferb listened to the epiphany while fixing his suit, and allowed a brief smile to cross his face.

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Isabella happily greeted her friends and subordinates, politely answering 'thank you' when wished a happy birthday, and 'I don't know' when asked Ferb's whereabouts. As usual, she was happy enough to be surrounded by friends on her day. In fact, the only thing that worried her was the absence of Phineas. Had he forgotten? Did he simply not care?

A huge shadow engulfed the backyard, children looking around in panic to find out what had blocked out the sun. Isabella gazed in wonder at the giant creation looming overhead. A fog horn sounded.

"Ahoy, Isabella!" Phineas shouted from the deck of the massive cruise ship. He was grinning happily, sliding down the side of the ship to take her, rather surprisingly, by the hand. She blushed quite visibly, but he was already in the midst of his explanation.

"Happy birthday! I welcome you to the SS Isabella, where we shall be enjoying a luxury cruise towards France, where we shall be disembarking in Paris for an all-inclusive girls-choice dance, during the finale of which we shall be carving our guest's name into the moon!"

There was complete silence – the crowd simply stood, hanging onto every word Phineas said.

"Well," he remarked. "What are you waiting for? All aboard!"

The children cheered and charged aboard, excitedly calling after each other and screaming their gratitude to both Phineas and Isabella.

"You did this all for me?" Isabella marvelled, eyes watering.

Phineas chortled lightly.

"Of course I did. Did you expect any less?"

He led the blushing guest of honour aboard by hand, never removing his gaze from her.

Up on the deck, Ferb was surrounded by fawning Fireside Girls, each clamouring for his attention. He allowed another smile to pass his face as he watched Phineas and Isabella. Yes, despite his oblivious nature, Phineas had impressive moments of clarity.

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**A little odd perhaps, but it just wouldn't leave my head until I wrote it down. Thanks for reading!**


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